Rosewood students sew quilts for children
By Laura Collins
Published in News on October 14, 2010 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MICHAEL K. DAKOTA
Cody Britt, 13, Emilee Howell, 14, and Dorian Starks, 13, hold up blankets that will be donated to Wayne Uplift. Uplift is a social service organization for women. Students in Darlene DeBruine's class made the blankets in family and consumer science in groups of two, three and four, to be donated to charity.
Thanks to students at Rosewood Middle School, things will be a little warmer at Wayne Uplift Resource Association this winter.
As part of a class project, students in Darlene DeBruine's family and consumer science class made 12 quilts that they donated to Wayne Uplift.
"I was thinking that we could make quilts this year to help the community. As a family and consumer science class, we are community-minded," Ms. DeBruine said. "It teaches it's important to help others and we are lucky to have what we have. Sometimes we forget others are less fortunate because it's out of sight out of mind, but this helped us keep others in mind."
Her class is made up of seventh- and eighth-graders who were divided up in teams of three or four to make the quilts.
"It surprised me how much pride they took in their work. They were like, 'Look, we made this,'" she said of her students. "They did do a good job, and they worked very well together."
The quilts had one-piece backing with rail-fence style quilting on the front.
Marshall Case, 12, said sewing was new to him, and he enjoyed the quilts.
"My favorite part was sewing the project for the kids because they need it more than I do," he said.
His classmate, Meyani Jarman, 12, agreed.
"It's getting cold outside and kids need blankets to stay warm," she said. "We can go home and turn up the heat, but some kids aren't as fortunate."
Meyani added that she hopes she can continue donating in the future.
"If people are less fortunate and truly need it, I would want to do this again," she said.
In addition to the lesson learned by donating the quilts, learning how to sew was also beneficial to the students, Ms. DeBruine said.
"We don't have garment industries here anymore, but it is a life skill that students should learn," she said. "And with parents working, they may not have the time to sit down and teach their kids how to sew."
Nicholas Phillips, 13, said he was glad to learn the skill.
"Cutting the edges and sewing was fun," he said. "I'll probably try to use it again."
Wayne Uplift victim advocate Deborah Carter said the quilts will go to either children at the shelter or will be given to children who enroll in the program who are fleeing domestic violence. Ms. Carter said the students' donation will have an impact on the children at Wayne Uplift.
"It's incredible because these kids are making a big difference," she said.